What was the official name of the Burke and Wills expedition?
Queensland Relief Expedition The party proceeded south and while they didn’t find any trace of the Burke and Wills party they continued all the way to Melbourne arriving in August 1862. This was the first European expedition to traverse mainland Australia from northern to southern coast.
Who went with Burke and Wills?
After waiting for the five weeks, Burke became impatient to race to the Gulf of Carpentaria to become the first white men to cross Australia from south to north. Burke decided to set out with William John Wills, John King and Charles Gray with one horse, six camels and supplies to last for three months.
Did Burke and Wills have a gong?
When they set out in April 1860, the full company included 15 men, 4 camel handlers, 27 camels and 23 horses. They took over two years’ worth of provisions and an enormous amount of equipment – including a cedar-topped table and a Chinese gong.
Who was in the first Burke and Wills expedition?
The first, led by Alfred William Howitt and including Brahé, left Melbourne on 20 June 1861 to retrace the missing explorers’ steps. Arriving at Camp LXV in September, the party found King and later the remains of Burke and Wills, blazing trees to mark their graves.
Who are Burke and Wills and what did they do?
BURKE AND WILLS: Australian Explorers. Robert O’Hara Burke (1820-1861) and William John Wills (1834-1861) were Australian explorers who were the first Europeans to cross Australia from south to north.
What did Robert O’Hara Burke and William Wills do?
Robert O’Hara Burke (1820-1861) and William John Wills (1834-1861) were Australian explorers who were the first Europeans to cross Australia from south to north. They both died on the return trip, from exhaustion and hunger. Burke and Wills were inexperienced explorers; Burke was a police investigator and Wills was a surveyor and meteorologist.
Who was with Burke and Wills in Gulf of Carpentaria?
There in December he established Depot Camp LXV (later called Fort Wills) near Boolloo Boolloo Waterhole and again left a waiting group while he trekked to the Gulf of Carpentaria accompanied only by surveyor William John Wills, his second-in-command, John King and Charles Gray.